Splashing the Divebomber

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

This is a game between Dive Bomber1 and me. We are playing scenario 15, stock map, and a pretty standard set of anti-gaminess rules. PDU's are off.

His Anti-AAR is: tm.asp?m=1439014

Valentine’s Day, 1942

Dive is knocking at the gates of Singapore and Bataan. Yes, I made my final stand in Bataan as opposed to Manila, primarily because I forgot to fortify Manila and finally noticed that when it came to crunch time. Oh well. Bataan is out of supply, and Singapore has around 4000 supply left because I managed to sneak in about 15K supplies due to Dive’s slows in closing the seas around Malaya. My sub ops are non-existent to date because I am trying an experiment by using every available sub to pull troops out. Those in Singapore are going to Dacca via Chandpur, and those in Bataan are going to Darwin. I have managed to pull out about 60 AV’s worth of the USMC regiment in Bataan but that window will be closing soon. The reason for my doing this is that I believe I might be able to save more in VP’s through rescues than I could by trying to sink ships with mostly worthless torpedos. Right or wrong, that is what I have been doing.

China:

I have been successful in stopping Dive in China along the Wuchow, Kweilin, Changsha, Ichang, Homan, Yenen line. Southeast of Homan I saw an opening and charged forth to capture the cross-roads. I have about 1400 AV’s in that hex and about 800 AV’s on the road hex between it and Homan. I don’t know if this is accomplishing anything, but I hope it is disrupting supply flow somewhere, and it gives him something to think about other than the imminent attack(s) on Wuchow, Changsha, and/or Ichang. Dive has been reinforcing the troops at Ichang, so I am forced to do so also, however I think it is a feint to draw strength from Changsha. I haven’t seen any SIGINT for units planning for Ichang, but have seen it for Changsha and Wuchow. He has the advantage of interior lines to shuttle troops for the (surprise) attack on Changsha, and he can be a sneaky b%@#&*d, so now I am sending troops the other way. In the north, a Mongol Cav unit (I believe) is sitting on the crossroads while the Hopei militia is split into three and spread along the road to slow any advance up it. To prevent para drops (see India/Burma below) I have at least a div on every city hex. As far as air, Dive is running his training missions bombing my troops while I have a P-40E unit from the PI based at Changsha at this time. I have been moving them around trying to intercept his Ann’s and Nates, and getting lucky every now and then when he zigs when he should have zagged. The last two turns I did sweeps over Wuhan, killing a total of six Nates. Wow.

[USSAmerica]

Nice to see another Stock AAR.  I'm a week of game time into my first PBEM against Montereytrench using Stock...and loving it![:D]  I'll need to start putting some screen shots into my AAR, as soon as something worthwhile happens.  Looking forward to following your progress.  Good luck!

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

India/Burma:

During Dive’s march up Burma I kept some forces one hex ahead of his to slow the advance, all the while avoiding combat. I wanted to maintain the combat integrity of my forces for the final stand in Myitkitina. I had sent the HQ and most BF’s to Myit to begin building forts. I intended to hold at Mandalay for a while but nearly overwhelming forces showed up. A cross-river attack did happen north of Pagan where some Japanese got their noses bloodied, and then I promptly retreated to Myit. Dacca is my concentration point in Southern India where I have 48 LB-30’s, and 64 B-17E’s from the PI. Thy have been gainfully employed bombing resources in Burma until recently where they have found new employment bombing Rangoon’s airfield whenever morale and flyable aircraft recover. A number of Zeros and transport a/c have been burned on the ground in these attacks, but no bombers have arrived for pummeling to date.

Andaman Island has been stocked with a Dutch BF and LCU, as well as the CD/BF unit from Rangoon with about 35000 supplies. This is where they die.
Jamshedpur, if you notice, is owned by the Japs. Take a wild guess what the transports at Rangoon have been up to. My LB raids on Rangoon have disrupted para ops badly, so he only has a few hundred troops on the ground. An Indian brigade is in Diamond Harbor moving on the paras now, and should get there in a turn or two. I pray Dive tries to reinforce them by air because the AVG is on the job. Speaking of the AVG, it is split, and spread out in Southern India. The British Navy is partially hiding in Oz with the rest heading towards CENTPAC. My newly arrived BB’s and a CV are skirting the edge of the map heading south because I expect KB to show up soon, and there is nothing I can do to stop the Death Star.
Chinese troops are being ferried into India from Chengtu via Ledo. Full divs are in Akyab, Myit, and a third is enroute to Diamond Harbor.
Colombo, at huge risk, contains the good British div, an arty unit, and an armored unit, and another BF is being loaded in Karachi for transport. Tricomolee is effectively defenseless. In 30 days, another Brit div arrives in Karachi – I just hope it is still mine then.

Dive made a move to cut the Burma road but has been thwarted by a Chinese corps sitting behind the river.

A BB TF has been spotted heading north near Singapore, so it will warm up in India soon.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

ORIGINAL: USS America

Nice to see another Stock AAR. I'm a week of game time into my first PBEM against Montereytrench using Stock...and loving it![:D] I'll need to start putting some screen shots into my AAR, as soon as something worthwhile happens. Looking forward to following your progress. Good luck!

Thanks,
I hope Divey isn't too disgusted with AAR's, and starts one from his perspective. I haven't looked at your AAR yet, but will.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

DEI:
The scene of my shame.

Earlier, KB showed up off Soerabaja and blasted AK’s, AP’s, and some Dutch ships of war to hamburger. The damaged flotsam is inching towards Melbourne south of Perth. The only upside in the DEI are the few transport ships I have hit with Dutch air as I move them around. Dive has a tendency to cover with LB air and surface warfare groups any significant moves into my territory, so my combat ships have been removed to OZ. Recently, however, a cruiser TF just refueled at Sidney, and is heading north to keep him honest.

Soerabaja, Batavia, and to a lesser extent Palembang have been the concentration points for Dutch troops pulled from unimportant bases. Soer is approaching forts of 8, Batavia is just over 5, and Palembang just reached 6.

Timor, except for the easternmost BF, has been evacuated to Northern Oz. The BF at Lautem is remaining to aid in aircraft fleeing Java when the hammer falls.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

New Guinea/Solomons :

The screen shot says it all. Port Moresby made it to 3 1/3 forts before Rabaul went operational. It has also been hit by a BB bombardment group about four days ago.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

Central Pacific:

Noumea, Suva, Pago-Pago, Canton, and Palmyra is the obvious defensive line to protect my lines of communication to OZ. Noumea now has the entire 2nd USMC Div, and the others each have 1/3 divisions garrisoning them. Other than fresh supplies, nothing else has been added. Baker belongs to Japan since early in the game. Wake Island fell the first turn, and Midway has a BF and a USMC CD unit and a respectable minefield. Both Wake and Johnson Island are next on the 1/3 list for reinforcements. I am happy I am going through all of this typing because I just now noticed I never reinforced them.

Alaska:

Dutch has been beefed up a little, and is in the process of building an A/F worth the name. This is an area I am looking at for my possible 1st counter attack.



And as long as I am in the neighborhood….

The USSR:

I hadn’t ever really given this area any thought until recently when I started getting SIGINT of half the Japanese Army planning to attack bases in USSR. I began to read up on Soviet defense strategies and quickly learned that I am in deep kimchee unless I have some activation of my forces beforehand. After some e-mails back and forth, Dive and I agreed to a house rule revision where he would activate the Soviets one month before his attack. That reminds me, I need to change planning on those guys next turn. Anyway, Dive implied a Soviet attack may be more trouble than it is worth, but I am still getting those planning reports.

Where are my CV’s? They have just left SF (Hornet just arrived) where they have been hiding out of Dive’s sight, heading for Pearl. This early in the game, knowing Divey, he will be paranoid about where they are, so by keeping him guessing, I might keep KB from getting into too much mischief. I haven’t seen hide nor hair of the Death Star for a while.
It is time to accumulate some AP’s for a counter thrust. But where?

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

It is the day after Valentines and love is no longer in the air. Today began Indian Shock and Awe which turned out to be Shockingly Awful. Two bombardment attacks landed on Akyab and Andaman Island damaging both substantially. Unfortunately for Dive, the AVG left Akyab last turn for Dacca otherwise that would have hurt. Nells hit Ceylon (both bases), and Andamon Island for zero damage. 27 Zeros from Mandalay hit Chandpur proving the zero bonus is alive and well downing 9 Buffalos and Hurricanes. The Jap paras isolated in India go away next turn as troops have arrived to smite them. Hurricanes are patrolling the air above the paras and AVG/A is over Diamond Harbor. My P-40E's have been recalled from China and are in Myit on a layover.

In other news, a 96 plane strike on a Chinese unit adjacent to Ichang netted 6 infantryman dead. Got to love Ann's and Lily's. Bataan's days are numbereed as the fort level dropped to 5 with a 2:1 attack by the Japs. Transport subs are being re-routed to repair ports before they begin normal war patrols.

[DuckofTindalos]

Have a good game. It can only be better than Dive Bomber's last one...

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

I have been looking at the map and thinking strategy. I would like to mount an early invasion of some Central Pacific island right now but I don't think I will because it would almost certainly result in a carrier battle. This early in the game I think that would be a bad idea while supporting an invasion because if I came out the loser in the battle my AP's and troops would be defenseless. I don't want that. So that leads me to option 2: refuel my CV's at PH, and run at high speed to try to surprise Dive in the DEI, New Guinea/Solomons, or even in the Bay of Bengal. This is feasible because I am unloading LOTS of fuel at Noumea right now, and there is a bunch in Perth and Colombo. Option 3 - the one I like, is to make a stealth approach through the Northern Pacific, refueling in Alaska, and a final high speed run to blast Tokyo. The problems I have with this one are: all of my AO's are busy escorting TK fleets (stupid I know, but I am running them far south to avoid subs, and need the fuel), and any badly damaged ships from this raid will have to be written off because they will never make it home. I have a couple of big AO's with a large TK fleet heading for OZ due south of PH, but a long way off. I could turn that fleet around and use those AO's. I think this idea has promise because all Dive has seen from me is conservative play. I do believe he would fall over dead of shock if I pull it off. I will sleep on it.

[bradfordkay]

That last is a ballsy move there, Tiger. If he has any Bettys or Nells at home it could easily cost you a CV or more as you'll be a loooonng way from any decent port. Remember, you haven't received the good AA upgrades for your carriers and the Zero bonus is still in effect, so the odds are against you in this.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

Yup, I know that. And so does Divebomber. My advantage is that he thinks I am a very conservative player because that is all he has seen to date. However I am still thinking on it. I don't like the idea of helpless ships off the coast of Japan - a long way from home. I am beginning to lean against it because of that. The idea of an attack on Wake is appealing - I counted the AP points I will have in the next couple of turns at SF, and it looks good, but then again I don't want to drown a couple of divisions either. I am now leaning towards a fast run west from PH after I pick up fuel and a bunch of DD's. The beauty of this is I don't have to pick a target ahead of time, I have the flexibility of going where opportunity presents. I want to stay close to support because going against the Death Star in the middle of New Jersey, I mean Nowhere, is a recipe for disaster.[:D]

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

Japanese transports have been spotted in the Bay of Bengal heading obviously for Yanam on the southern coast of India. Paras landed, and took that city easily this turn because it was undefended. Troops all over India have been mobilized, and are heading for the coast, but Karachi keeps some armor and artillery. Another UK div arrives in 27 days, and I believe I will be needing it badly. CV Indomitable is somewhat nearby and is charging into what will no doubt be a glorious end for her. KB has to be in the area, but I want to know for sure. I am surprised Dive is invading India this early, I thought for sure he would wait until Singapore fell. So be it. Some Hudsons and Blenheims with experience in the high 60's have been transferred to Madras, and hopefully they can do some damage to the ships before they disembark. My B17's and LB-30's have been tasked with hitting the port of Yanam to slow things down for him.
This turn in San Francisco two Inf Div's and a Tank unit are embarking for the invasion of Wake Island. If the KB is in India, I will take Wake. Dive can't possibly have fortified it too much by now. My CV's are halfway to PH, and I have 5 healthy BB's in SF to accompany the invasion of Wake, if I choose to do that.

[princep01]

My, my.  Victory disease seems to be the order of the day.  The IJN/IJA are already attempting a swipe at India before the fall of Sing??  Interesting.
 
I'm just too conservative to even think of such activity prior to Sing's capture.  But, then, maybe your opponent knows that it totters at the brink.  Who is to say?  But, on the surface, this seems a too bold an excursion on the day after Valentine's Day.
 
Tiger, you seem to have played this game a lot.  Is it common for the IJN player to reach as far as possible, as soon as possible, then backfill the by-passed islands and DEI?  I don't know, but that seems squirrely to me; and not to mention extremely dangerous for the Japanese.  One major mishap at the edge of the world and one finds oneself defeated.
 
However, defeating the Br in India/Burma before the Br and Ind can really reinforce things does look inviting.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

ORIGINAL: princep01

My, my. Victory disease seems to be the order of the day. The IJN/IJA are already attempting a swipe at India before the fall of Sing?? Interesting.

I'm just too conservative to even think of such activity prior to Sing's capture. But, then, maybe your opponent knows that it totters at the brink. Who is to say? But, on the surface, this seems a too bold an excursion on the day after Valentine's Day.

Tiger, you seem to have played this game a lot. Is it common for the IJN player to reach as far as possible, as soon as possible, then backfill the by-passed islands and DEI? I don't know, but that seems squirrely to me; and not to mention extremely dangerous for the Japanese. One major mishap at the edge of the world and one finds oneself defeated.

However, defeating the Br in India/Burma before the Br and Ind can really reinforce things does look inviting.

I am still a novice in PBEM actually but even so I think Div's invasion is premature. But then again, I don't have a whole lot to stop him with this early if he can scrape up a few divisions. I believe my big opportunity here is to pressure him in the Central Pacific, especially if India turns into a meat grinder. I believe your comments to be accurate. He is making a major throw of the dice. If he knocks India out of the war, he will have effectively won, if he comes up snake-eyes I get a big jump towards Tokyo.

[bradfordkay]

Look out, I believe that he has brought a bear along to marshall a team of elephants... [;)]

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

Divebomber is now probably realizing India won't be the pushover he thought it would be. The Blenheims and Hudsons flying from Madras scored some hits on 5 AP's just south of Yanam,and sunk two escorting MSW's. They are tasked with flying again tomorrow. Madras has probably attracted some attention from the Japs so the Buffalos flying CAP over Madras have been replaced with 24 P-40's from the AVG. Should Dive try an air attack on Dacca where my 4E's are flying, he will run into 48 planes from the AVG, plus the 37 P-40's newly arrived from China via Myit. They is also a raft of Hurricanes just itching to get shot down, but numbers count, so they stay.
This early invasion has caught me by surprise to say the least, so most of my BF's are still concentrated in Dacca where they have been industriously building a nice pretty airfield. One of these BF's is now moving towards Calcutta, and as soon as it gets there I will transfer some Dakotas there so I can shuttle a Chinese Div to Madras. That city is in serious danger of invasion by the Japs, and only has a BF protecting it. I have an Indian Div and an Arty regiment heading to Madras from Bombay, but they are a long way away. A couple of BF's were already at Hyderabad and Bangalore, slowly toiling away on airfields, but they now have help on the way. My 4E's are standing down this turn, but will fly again next turn. This turn they hit the port at Yanam achieving 4 hits and some supply hits. Unsatisfactory. My mini-Cruiser div has docked at Cairns to re-fuel. They sortie next turn. My CV's are a couple of turns from Pearl now where they will refuel and pick up some DD's, and my transports are still loading troops at San Francisco. Next turn some more AP's arrive there and will begin loading engineers. As to where the CV's go, I still haven't decided what to do. I may go on to invade Wake, but it will take my ships a long time to get into position and I want to take advantage of Dive's distractions in the West. I don't want to run into the teeth of his LB air, so a raid on Kwajalein and environs is out. A quick dash to the Bay of Bengal is still a thought. I have a couple of turns to see what develops. CV Indomitable should arrive off Yanam this turn unless the admiral decides to go around Ceylon.




A deadly CV and AK task force has been spotted heading Northwest. [8|]

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

ORIGINAL: bradfordkay

Look out, I believe that he has brought a bear along to marshall a team of elephants... [;)]

A long gone Bear can't stand up to my Dynamic Duo - Tuberville and Borges. Those elephants will be dead as Hannibal before long.

[String]

If you go for Wake be sure to bring lots of supplies and every CD/AA unit you can get your hands on as he is sure to try and retake it. Hitting several marine defence battallions and a few of those 155mm CD arty units would be pretty nasty. And the allied AAA units ought to do a number on his carrier air arm if it ever tries to hit that little atoll.

[AU Tiger_MatrixForum]

There is the rub. Currently most of my AP's are off on errands, and are dribbling back to SF and PH. I need to look closely at those, because if I re-take Wake, I want to keep it. Thank you for the advice, you are entirely correct.

Addendum: I have the transport to do it. Thanks again.